Month: August 2018

As the first game of the Scott Frost era comes close, it’s time to make things official and predict how the 2018 season will unfold for Nebraska. At the Double Extra Point, we use a particular system to try and make season predictions less of a guessing game.

The system is to break the games on the schedule into four different categories. Better Win games are ones Nebraska should be able to win all the games in the category. Should Win games are games where Nebraska should win a majority (more than half) of the games in the category. Might Win games are games where Nebraska should win less than a majority (less than half) of the games in the category. And Won’t Win games are games where Nebraska shouldn’t win any in the category.

Once the games are categorized, we can then add up the expected wins from each category and get a season win total. Of course, I’ll also make a Fearless Forecast for each game, and rest assured I will take credit for whichever prediction ends up closer to reality.

(Kidding! The “system” prediction is the official season call from the DXP!)

Akron, Sept. 1

The Zips are coming off a 7-7 record in 2017, but were ranked no. 112 nationally in S&P+, the analytical model used by Bill Connelly of SB Nation. They do return most of their defense, but are far behind Nebraska in terms of their five-year recruiting average (again from Connelly of SB Nation), meaning NU’s talent should be far superior.

After last year, nothing should be taken for granted, but Akron does provide as soft of an opening for Frost’s tenure in Lincoln as he could reasonably hope for.

Better Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 45, Akron 17

Colorado, Sept. 9

If nothing else, the return of Colorado to Nebraska’s schedule has reignited the Nebraska-Colorado venom across social media.

One year removed from a Pac-12 title game, Colorado went 5-7 last year, and Connelly’s analytics have the Buffs doing one worse this season. Colorado does return a starting quarterback, but that’s about it offensively, with a lot of work to rebuild defensively as well.

So while Nebraska brings a number of advantages to the game, Colorado will be the first Power Five opponent Frost’s Huskers face.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 41, Colorado 31

Troy, Sept. 15

TRAP GAME WARNING!

If there’s a game early in the season that should scare the bejeezus out of Husker Fan, this is it. A trip to Ann Arbor is the following weekend. The opponent’s name is Troy, and I don’t care how dialed in a team is, I refuse to believe it’s not a challenge to get Nebraska athletes to one hundred percent buy in to an opponent named Troy. And the game is an 11:00 a.m. kickoff, games Nebraska traditionally struggles to perform well in.

Oh, by the way, Troy beat LSU last year, 24-21, in Death Valley. So the Trojans aren’t going to have any fear coming into Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska’s a better team than Troy, and should win this game. But this is a scary scenario for Frost’s first season.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 38, Troy 27

At Michigan, Sept. 22

Frost didn’t get any favors from the schedule makers with his first road trip. Michigan is loaded, particularly on defense. Nebraska has a true freshman quarterback making his first road trip, and two walk-ons (including one true freshman) behind him.

Yes, Michigan has been underwhelming under Jim Harbaugh. But that’s underwhelming for Michigan standards. That doesn’t mean it makes the task for Nebraska any easier in Ann Arbor.

Won’t Win

Fearless Forecast: Michigan 38, Nebraska 24

Purdue, Sept. 29

The Boilermakers are a trendy sleeper pick in the B1G West, and head coach Jeff Brohm took remarkable strides in his first season. But keep in mind, Purdue was one of Nebraska’s four wins last year, and that was in East Lafayette. The Boilermakers do return both their quarterbacks, but still have enough of a talent deficiency to make this a game Nebraska should win at home.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 53, Purdue 38

At Wisconsin, Oct. 6

If there’s an acid test for Frost’s Year One at Nebraska, it’s the trip to Camp Randall. It’s easy to look back at 2017 and remember it as a tire fire. But don’t forget that going into the fourth quarter, Nebraska was tied with Wisconsin. It wasn’t until Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst took the ball out of quarterback Alex Hornibrook’s hands and let freshman phenom tailback Jonathan Taylor run wild on then-defensive coordinator Bob Diaco’s defense that the Badgers pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Talent-wise, the teams are relatively equivalent, with Nebraska having a slight advantage in the five-year recruiting average. But Wisconsin has a significant advantage in terms of scheme and culture. If the Frost Effect is going to push Nebraska to a conference competitor in 2018, this would be the game we would find out.

But that’s likely a bridge to far to ask Frost to bring his charges this season.

Might Win

Fearless Forecast: Wisconsin 38, Nebraska 24

At Northwestern, Oct. 13

The Battle for NU is a strange beast. Each team has an amazing record at their opponent’s field. Since joining the B1G, Nebraska is 3-0 in Evanston, and 1-3 in Lincoln. And the one Nebraska win was courtesy of the Kellogg-to-Westerkamp Hail Mary, otherwise Northwestern would be 4-0 in Memorial Stadium.

This year’s contest is in Evanston, so weirdly that’s good news for Nebraska. What’s better news for Nebraska is that Justin Jackson is now playing for the Los Angeles Chargers, and Clayton Thorson is still … Clayton Thorson. This sets up to be the best shot for Frost’s first road win as head Husker.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 40, Northwestern 21

Minnesota, Oct. 20

It was the Minnesota game when you knew it was over. In the three games prior to Nebraska, Goldie scored a total of 47 points.

Minnesota hung 54 against Nebraska on that cold November afternoon in Minneapolis.

Does that mean Minnesota should be a favorite to beat Nebraska this year? No. The talent differential between the two teams is still stark.

And Minnesota’s 54 points wasn’t a reflection of the talent level and fundamentals of the two squads. It was the result of a coaching failure by then-head man Mike Riley in his staff that broke the 2017 Nebraska squad. It’s unfair to say the team quit. But it’s very fair to say that the team was given more than it could bear, and against Minnesota the result of that failure became apparent.

Should Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 47, Minnesota 17

At Ohio State, Nov. 3

I don’t know who at the B1G scheduling office has it in for Nebraska, but fer cryin’ out loud there’s been a lot of Buckeyes on the slate recently.

2017. 2018. 2019. 2020. 2021. 2024.

At this point it kinda feels like Ohio State is getting a trial run in the B1G West. Sure, Ohio State has been embroiled in scandal lately. But because head coach Urban Meyer only got a three-game suspension for his mishandling assistant coach Zach Smith’s history of domestic violence (and that’s describing it mildly, although the story is still unfolding), it is unlikely that Ohio State will be anything less than the machine it has been under Meyer by the time Nebraska rolls into Columbus.

Won’t Win

Fearless Forecast: Ohio State 49, Nebraska 21 (but Nebraska makes Brutus punt for the first time since 2012!)

Illinois, Nov. 10

It looked good on paper, didn’t it? Former NFL head coach – former Super Bowl head coach with the Bears – Lovie Smith comes to college to coach the team from whom the Bears copied their team colors.

Unfortunately for the Illini, it really hasn’t worked out. Illinois is 5-19 since Smith arrived in Champaign, and 2-16 against the B1G. Former Nebraska quarterback AJ Bush was named Illinois’ starter for the 2018 campaign. But Illinois’ recruiting under Smith gives little comfort to Illini faithful.

Yes, Illinois was one of Riley’s ugly losses in 2015. And as we’ve seen before <cough Northern Illinois cough> nothing should be taken for granted. But this should be Nebraska’s second-softest game on the 2018 slate.

Better Win

Fearless Forecast: Nebraska 55, Illinois 28

Michigan State, Nov. 17

Sparty and Nebraska are right next to each other in terms of five-year recruiting averages, meaning the talent level on the field should be very even. And Michigan State did what Nebraska faithful are hoping from Frost’s crew, jumping from a dreadful 3-9 in 2016 to 10-3 in 2017.

With the game being in Lincoln, many are marking this game as Frost’s best chance to get a quality win. It’s fair analysis, Sparty under head coach Mike D’Antonio looks to be a tall order for Nebraska at the back end of a grueling schedule.

The five-year recruiting averages would suggest that Nebraska’s on-field talent is better than Iowa’s. Results on the field would suggest that Iowa has a significant leg up on Nebraska.

Nebraska fans are certainly hoping that Frost will be able to restore what they perceive to be order in the universe by regularly beating Iowa. Maybe that will happen, as coaching and scheme in Lincoln come to equal the recruiting rankings.

But for the last game of a grinding season, in Iowa City, it will be tough sledding for Nebraska to break the trend of the Heroes Game over the last few years.

Might Win

Fearless Forecast: Iowa 28, Nebraska 24

Conclusion

So let’s see what the system suggests Nebraska’s win total should be for 2018

Category

Number

Expected Wins

Better Win

2

2

Should Win

5

3

Might Win

3

1

Won’t Win

2

0

Total Expected Wins

6

So the system pegs Nebraska at 6-6 for 2018, whereas the Fearless Forecasts have NU going (checks notes) 7-5 on the campaign. That’s right in line with what the investors in Las Vegas, with Nebraska’s win total (according to oddsshark.com) at 6.5 for 2018.

But there’s also a real risk that if expectations run too high in 2018 and Nebraska fails to deliver – and don’t kid yourself, the path to 5-7 or worse for this season with a first-year head coach and a threadbare quarterback depth chart is there for all to see – then there is a real risk that the giddy optimism of this season could turn into the cynical backbiting that has plagued Nebraska’s fanbase since the firing of Frank Solich.

And, as that smart and particularly handsome analyst observed, a poisoned fanbase is the biggest risk to Frost’s ability to succeed in Lincoln. So enjoy your football, Husker Fan, Lord knows the wait has been long this year. But please please please please please, don’t let your excitement run away with you this year.

GBR, baby.

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We are now less than two weeks away from Nebraska taking the field under new head coach Scott Frost, and to say that Husker Fan is excited is the understatement of the century. Already, every possible variation of a “Frost warning” t-shirt has been bought and sold, and a long-dormant sense of hope for Nebraska to return to national glory has awoken.

There is plenty of reason for that optimism. Allkindsof national media are convinced that Frost is the right guy to lead Nebraska out of college football’s desert of irrelevance. And they’ve got plenty of reasons to think so. He’s got the pedigree, both from his playing days in college and the NFL, and coaching under Chip Kelly at Oregon.

Since Frost’s hire, Nebraska fans have had visions of trophies dancing in their heads. Precious little thought has been given to the other side of that scenario.

Now, let’s be clear. I think Frost is the right guy. I agree with the generally-accepted wisdom that Nebraska under Frost could be back to being – well, Nebraska in short order.

But “likely to succeed” doesn’t mean “will succeed.” And I hate to break it to you, Husker Fan, but there are some reasons out there why Frost might not be successful at Nebraska. Here are five of them.

There’s More to the UCF Turnaround

You may have heard that Frost engineered quite the turnaround in Orlando. The Knights were 0-12 the year before he arrived. In two short seasons under Frost’s tutelage, the Knights were 13-0 and beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl.

That’s a heck of an accomplishment, of course, enough to win Frost basically everynationalcoach of the yearaward he could win for 2017. And he deserved them. Having a guy like that take the reins in Lincoln should give Nebraska fans plenty to be excited about.

But there’s more to the story. Yes, going from 0-12 to 13-0 is an amazing feat. But let’s broaden the lens a little and look at UCF’s performance over the last seven years.

YEAR

UCF RECORD

2017 (Frost)

13-0

2016 (Frost)

6-7

2015 (O’Leary/Barrett)

0-12

2014 (O’Leary)

9-4

2013 (O’Leary)

12-1

2012 (O’Leary)

10-4

Yeah, UCF was terrible in 2015, enough to get previous head coach George O’Leary fired mid-season. But it’s not like UCF was a year-after-year disaster that Frost resurrected. The squad that Frost inherited was only a year removed from a nine-win season. It was only two years removed from being a three-point loss to South Carolina away from being in the mix for the final BCS title game.

Now, let’s be clear. This doesn’t take any credit away from Frost’s accomplishments at UCF. Going from 0-12 to 13-0 is remarkable, regardless of context.

But UCF’s 2015 debacle was clearly the outlier. So to assume Frost is a necromancer that can raise the football dead based on two years of work in Orlando ignores the platform upon which Frost stepped when he arrived at UCF.

Frost Has Never Done This Before

Frost has been a head coach for two years, and has had phenomenal and demonstrable success. But it’s still just two years. He and his staff have never put a full recruiting class together. Sure, Frost’s recruiting in Lincoln up to now has been admirable, especially without a full cycle.

But we still don’t know how Frost’s recruiting will hold up

We also don’t know how Frost and his staff will handle a step up in class. Going from the American Athletic Conference to the B1G is a pretty big step. There’s a quantum difference between games against South Florida, Cincinnati, and Houston, and Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Frost won’t be successful. But it means that Frost’s ability to get wins against B1G competition – both on the recruiting trail and on the field – is still an open question. Yes, he’s currently doing very well, ranked no. 26 on 247Sports. But he’s also still trading on his 12-0 record from last year. What happens if Nebraska goes through a 6-6 season – or worse – and the shine is off the rose on the recruiting trail is still an open question.

The Schedule Is A Beast

Frost did not pick the best year to arrive in Lincoln trying to raise the dead. Nebraska’s 2018 schedule was rated the nation’s second hardest by Athlon Sports and 247 Sports, and the nation’s hardest by Bleacher Report.

Take a quick look (maybe through your fingers to shield your eyes) and you’ll see why. Nebraska has road trips to Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State, and Iowa. That’s … daunting. If Nebraska gets through this gauntlet at 2-3, it’s doing very well. Going 1-4 through that schedule is more likely.

That leaves Nebraska needing to win four home games – in a best-case scenario – just to become bowl eligible. The home schedule includes a Power Five school in Colorado that’s one year removed from the Pac-12 title game, a Troy team that beat LSU in Death Valley last year, an improving Purdue, and Minnesota squad that hung 54 on the Blackshirts last year.

Let’s say Nebraska has two gimmies, against Akron and Illinois (although as we saw against Northern Illinois last year – or Illinois in 2015 – there’s probably no such thing as a gimmie). That means Nebraska would have to go 2-3 against Colorado, Troy, Purdue, Minnesota, and Michigan State just to make bowl eligibility.

And that’s if Nebraska wins two games on the road. Otherwise, NU needs a 3-2 mark against those five just to see a bowl in 2018.

Maybe things will click for Nebraska. Maybe Nebraska’s starting quarterback – who will be a freshman, either true or redshirt, regardless of who wins the job – grabs the reins and succeeds right away. Maybe the defense picks up new coordinator Erik Chinander’s new system.

Maybe, maybe, maybe. But that’s a lot of maybes, and a schedule with very little room for error if some of those maybes come up the wrong way.

Sure, if you squint real hard, you can see 8-4 in this schedule, like this dope argued. But it’s just as easy – maybe even easier – to see a path to 4-8 in Nebraska’s 2018 campaign.

Tackle Depth Is Scary

Brendan Jaimes. Christian Gaylord. Matt Farniok. Matt Sichterman.

As a very wise man once said, that’s it, that’s the list. In this case, that’s the list of true tackles on Nebraska’s roster. Most of you reading this know that you need to start two tackles, meaning Nebraska has a two-deep at tackle for the season – if everyone stays healthy and performs up to expectation.

Tackle is, put mildly, an important position. And an injury to any one of those four guys puts Nebraska in a circumstance where it will have to rotate players out of position at tackle, or ask the remaining tackles to play more games than they otherwise would.

Oh, and did I mention that Frost’s hurry-up offense focuses on speed, meaning that it will ask its offensive players – particularly its offensive line – to be in peak condition to put pressure on opposing defenses.

Losing one or two of those four guys, either to injury or poor play, could end up being an Achilles heel for Nebraska’s offense in 2018.

The Fans Could Wreck Everything

Yep, Husker Fan, this one’s on you. I know just how excited y’all are for the Frost era to begin. And you’ve got every reason to be. Frost looks every bit as advertised, and on paper he looks tailor made to return Nebraska to glory.

Heck, Nebraska fans are standing in line just for hours to get the guy’s autograph (according to Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald).

But remember, Husker Fan, you haven’t seen Frost coach a game for Nebraska. More importantly, you haven’t seen Frost lose a game for Nebraska.

I know, I know, y’all are all about being patient, about knowing that the process will take time for Frost.

Honestly, I believe that’s what you think right now. I’m less convinced that you’ll think that if Nebraska is 2-6 this year, coming off home losses to Troy (!) Purdue, and Minnesota, and twenty-point blowouts to Michigan and Wisconsin on the road.

Don’t forget that the hurry-up style of offense Frost prefers, when it doesn’t work, can be pretty ugly. An unsuccessful hurry-up offense leads to a lot of quick three-and-outs and pressure on your defense. Nebraska’s defense is already preparing to face 90 (!) plays per game, according to McKewon.

To put that in perspective, Minnesota scored 54 points against last year’s Blackshirts in 61 plays. So if things go badly, they could go pretty spectacularly badly. And that’s hard for fans to watch.

The word “fan” is shorthand for “fanatic.” Almost by definition, fandom defies cool, rational analysis. If Nebraska is sitting at 2-6, and looking ugly with Frost’s unique scheme, then there will start to be fans that turn on the team.

It wouldn’t be many at first, given the incredible goodwill and credibility Frost has coming into the job. But a sub-.500 2018 will, almost without question, leave a portion of the fanbase at best uneasy and at worst skeptical of Frost’s ability to raise Nebraska from the dead.

That puts immense pressure on 2019, then. Nebraska has a road trip to Colorado for its second game of the season, and hosts Ohio State in game five. Even assuming a win over the rest of the slate (which includes Northern Illinois, so we know not to take anything for granted), how would the fanbase feel about a 3-2 Nebraska coming off a blowout loss in Columbus after a 4-8 season?

Again, this is not to say that this dystopian future will happen. It’s not even to say that it’s likely – I think it’s not, to be honest. But can you look at where Nebraska’s been since the 2001 version of Black Friday and say that outcome is impossible, or even preposterous?

And even If the situation isn’t that dire, fans are still fans. Eventually, Frost the prodigal son returned to save the kingdom will become Frost the coach who called the wrong play and cost Nebraska a win. This year – mark it down – there will be a portion of the fanbase that will turn negative.

It’s likely not a big portion, of course, and Nebraska having success early will put those nattering nabobs of negativity far out of the spotlight.

But this has been a traumatized fanbase, rent asunder by the firing of Frank Solich, abused and taken advantage of by Steve Pederson, willfully divided and antagonized by Bo Pelini, incompetently managed by Shawn Eichorst, and historically failed by Mike Riley. Yeah, I know, it’s only a game. But that’s a lot of trauma (in relative terms) for a fan base to absorb, especially one for whom Nebraska football is such a core part of its identity.

Winning, of course, makes that trauma go away. But continued lack of success – and how much and for what length of time is the great experiment upon which we are all embarking – will bring those demons to the surface.

Abraham Lincoln himself – the namesake of the school’s home town – said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Possibly the greatest danger to Frost being successful as Nebraska head coach is if that success does not come quickly enough, and a critical mass of that traumatized fanbase ends up giving up on hoping in Frost, turning in with negativity, and destroying itself.

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Long-time columnist Steven M. Sipple of the Lincoln Journal-Star tried – unsuccessfully – to talk himself out of predicting an eight-win season for Nebraska in 2018.

There’s plenty of reasons to be doubtful of Nebraska getting to eight wins next year. Primarily, NU is coming off a 4-8 season last year, and going from four wins to eight would be a massive jump. Nebraska has an entirely new coaching staff, and will be learning an entirely new offensive and defensive structure. Nebraska’s starting quarterback will almost assuredly be either redshirt freshman Tristan Gebbia or true freshman Adrian Martinez, neither of which have played a down of college football.

Sipple listed a number of reasons, including the departure of defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, the depth of the running backs, the strength of the wide receivers, and the track record of new head coach Scott Frost as causes for his optimism. All of those are well founded.

But Sipple didn’t mention another reason why Husker Fan might allow a little irrational exuberance to creep into the imagination as the new season dawns. Here are the five-year recruiting averages for all of Nebraska’s 2018 opponents, as compiled by SB Nation’s Bill Connelly.

Akron

124

Colorado

57

Troy

102

Michigan

22

Purdue

69

Wisconsin

35

Northwestern

53

Minnesota

48

Ohio State

2

Illinois

59

Michigan State

23

Iowa

46

Nebraska’s five-year recruiting average is no. 25. That means only three teams on NU’s 2018 schedule (Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State) have better overall talent than Nebraska.

Now, I can hear all kinds of objections being raised to this analysis. First of all, I know a bunch of you are going to be telling me that recruiting ratings are just guessing games, and that the stars don’t matter.

Well, you’re wrong. Sure, for individual players, a five-star rating isn’t a guarantee of stellar performance. But the five-year averages are looking at recruiting in the aggregate, and the numbers are pretty hard to ignore. According to Stuart Mandel,

Power 5 teams (of which there are 65) that consistently recruit Top 20 classes have a 60 percent chance of becoming a Top 20 program and a 35 percent chance of regularly inhabiting the Top 10.

By contrast, Power 5 teams that finish outside the Top 20 in recruiting have a lower than 18 percent chance of fielding Top 20 teams and just a 6.7 percent chance of reaching the Top 10.

There’s no perfect gauge, of course, for determining a team’s talent level. But given how predictive recruiting averages are to a team’s performance, those averages are as close as we can get to quantifying talent levels.

In other words …

Now, the other argument I can hear is probably much stronger. Sure, talent level matters, but it ain’t everything. Wisconsin is ten spots below Nebraska in the five-year recruiting average, and is 6-1 against NU since Nebraska joined the B1G. Iowa is 21 spots below Nebraska, and has beaten NU in three straight games by an aggregate score of 124-44. Northwestern (no. 53) beat Nebraska last year. Heck, even Minnesota (no. 48) hung 54 on Nebraska last year.

So obviously, just because Nebraska has better on-paper talent than teams on its schedule is no guarantee of victory. Coaching, home field, system familiarity and fit, injuries, and any other number of variables go into that equation as well.

But looking at the recruiting averages gives you at least some gauge of how the teams stack up on paper. And because Nebraska stacks up well against a number of its opponents from a recruiting average standpoint, analysts like Sipple can at least make an argument how a new coaching staff and new structures can help erase the deficits in other areas and make games against teams like Wisconsin and Iowa winnable.

Now, is an eight-win season for Nebraska likely? I tend to think not, and that six wins should be the target for Frost’s first season.

But the recruiting averages (and the points Sipple makes) at least makes the case for an eight-win 2018 a colorable one.

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It had to happen. This run of feel-good perfection couldn’t last forever.

After Scott Frost was announced as Nebraska’s new head football coach in December of last year, everything has been sunshine and rainbows in HuskerLand. The prodigal son has come home, and with his return it’s only a matter of time before Nebraska football returns to glory.

With this focus on the past, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that adidas has tweaked Nebraska’s uniforms for the upcoming season

Notice anything different? There are a few changes (like no “N” on the hip of the home pants and the “Winning Tradition” patch higher up on the jersey) but it looks like there is one big modification.

The stripes are gone from the pants.

I’ll admit, it’s not entirely clear from adidas’ marketing whether the stripes are gone. But it sure looks like it, and it makes sense if their going for a nineties-era vibe for Nebraska under Frost.

After all, when Nebraska was the most dominant program in college football, NU was rocking the stripeless pants. When Tommie Frazier was galloping through an exhausted Florida defense, he was doing so sans stripe. When Frost himself was advocating to give “Tom Osborne, that great man, a national championship … at least a share” after vanquishing Peyton Manning’s Volunteers, he did so without a stitch of a strip on his legs.

So why, you may ask, shouldn’t Nebraska throw its pants back to the nineties and lay claim to that heritage.

I’ll tell you why, dear reader. Because it looks terrible.

Nebraska went stripeless-pants for an alternate uniform last year, against Wisconsin, so we’ve got some recent evidence to compare. Here’s what the scarlet and cream look like both with stripes and without.

I get the nostalgia. I get the yearning for better days. But clear your head for just a moment and look at these pictures. The stripes on the pants just objectively look better. They provide length and color agreement. Football pants without stripes are just blobs of shiny color.

The NFL knows this to be true. Check out the Gridiron Uniform Database, and you’ll find there’s only two uniform sets in the whole league that go without stripes – the Baltimore Ravens home uniform and the New Orleans Saints alternate blacks.

But it doesn’t really match with the skinny N on the helmet. On the helmet, you have a thin sans-serifed N, and then a heavy, block numeral. It doesn’t really match.

So how do you fix it? You sure as heck aren’t going to mess with the N on the helmet. So what do you do?

The answer is there already. Look closer at the gorgeous numerals Nebraska has worn on the back of its helmets for ages.

Why not import those numerals onto the uniform itself? Then everything from pants to jersey to helmet would all match. Plus, Nebraska would be cleaning up its look, but would be giving a nod to its history by mimicking the numbers on the historic Stadium Clock inside Memorial Stadium (just ignore the goofball with the two awesome kids standing in front of it).

Here’s a terrible, terrible Photoshop of what the uniform alteration might look like.

This is the past Nebraska should be embracing – with stripes on its pants as it comes out of the tunnel.

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When Scott Frost was announced as Nebraska’s new head football coach, fans were understandably thrilled with visions of returning to the glory days of the nineties.

Little did they suspect that some of that nineties glory would be Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder’s junior-college-heavy roster building tactics.

Since arriving in Lincoln, Nebraska has added eight (!) junior-college transfers (as observed by Brandon Cavanaugh of Athlon Sports) and a total of 51 (!!) new players since December (according to Parker Gabriel of the Lincoln Journal-Star). Indeed, according to Gabriel, 36.4 percent of the 140 players currently on the roster have been added since December 2017.

That’s … a lot. And it means that Frost was serious about creating an entirely new Nebraska program. So when you see Nebraska come out of the tunnel against Akron on September 01, there will be a lot of new faces and new names to process.

You can keep track of Nebraska’s roster with our own Roster Distribution page, of course. But to help you out, here’s a list of the five biggest new additions to the roster that will help define Frost’s first year in charge.

Tre Neal (S)

Neal’s recruiting numbers won’t blow you away, being a 247 Sports composite 0.8385 as a recruit. But don’t underestimate the importance of this graduate transfer from UCF arriving in Lincoln. Neal was effective in his time with the Knights, and more importantly he has an intimate knowledge of defensive coordinator Eric Chinander’s system. Look for him to see the field right away and be critical in helping the rest of Nebraska’s secondary get on the same page.

Will Honas (ILB)

Nebraska’s linebacker depth coming into 2018 was a little shaky, to put it charitably. Mohammed Barry and Dedrick Young are clearly the class of the returners, but behind them at inside linebacker was only one other scholarship player, Avery Roberts.

So the addition of Honas provides not only depth at the position, but a player ready to start on day one, giving an instant infusion to a position of need for Nebraska.

Vaha Vainuku (DL)

The cliché in all of sports is that you can’t coach size. At six-foot-three and 295 pounds, Vainuku has the frame to fit in immediately at any role in Nebraska’s 3-4 defensive line setup. And while his skill-set may lean more ideally to defensive end, Nebraska’s lack of depth at nose tackle means Vainuku can both literally and figuratively fill a significant hole for NU in 2018.

Breon Dixon (OLB)

One team’s misfortune is always another team’s gain. With Mississippi’s NCAA troubles, their highly-regarded (and at times illegally recruited) stars became available for transfer. Dixon, a four-star linebacker, was targeted by Nebraska, and ultimately given clearance to play right away by the NCAA.

The addition of Dixon at outside linebacker gives Nebraska an instant infusion of SEC-level talent at a position of need. For a team that ranked no. 119 nationally (!) in sacks last year (according to CFB Stats), adding a talent like Dixon could make a huge difference for Frost’s version of the Blackshirts in 2018.

Maurice Washington (RB)

Yeah, I know this probably should be Greg Bell, the junior-college running back transfer that is likely your starting tailback for Nebraska in 2018. Bell’s skills are amazing, and his addition gives Nebraska an instant-impact offensive performer, especially if injuries continue to hamper Tre Bryant’s development at the position.

But I’m including Washington, a true freshman, instead both for what he brings to the field and for the nature of his recruitment. Washington was Nebraska’s third-highest rated offensive recruit (behind quarterback Adrian Martinez and tight end Cameron Jurgens) in 2018, but it looked for the longest time like he would be an academic casualty and at best need a redshirt year and burn a scholarship hole for NU.

That didn’t happen, though, because Washington was able to get his academics cleared and be eligible for 2018. Frost and his staff never waivered on Washington, and their perseverance helped make sure that Nebraska has a potentially game-changing tailback in the mix this season. And with the new redshirt rules that allow players to participate in up to four games without losing redshirt eligibility, it is even more likely that Washington will get an opportunity to show his skills for Nebraska in 2018.